Virginia Union and Winston-Salem State are set to play in the NBA HBCU Classic on Saturday in a matchup of two of the most legendary programs in HBCU basketball history.
Virginia Union has a long, storied basketball history that dates back nearly a century. It includes many of the greatest players in CIAA, HBCU and small college basketball history. Here is an all-time starting five as well as some other notable names from Virginia Union basketball history.
AJ English
1986-1990
A native of Wilmington, DE, English played for Virginia Union University from 1986—1990 where he scored 2,396 points, including a single-season school record of 1,001 points in 1989-90. In 1990, English was named CIAA Player of the Year, NCAA Division II National Player of the Year and helped lead the Panthers to their second national championship under Head Coach Dave Robbins. English was an All-CIAA selection three times (1988, 1989 and 1990) and was named to the CIAA All-Tournament team in 1989 and 1990.
He went on to be drafted by the Washington Bullets in the second round of the 1990 NBA Draft.
Mike Davis
1966-1969
As VUU’s all-time leading scorer with 2,758 points, Davis received all-conference honors each of his three years and was named the 1969 CIAA Player of the Year. He is the second all-time leading scorer in the CIAA, second only to Earl Monroe. His scoring averages for his three seasons: 31, 36 and 32 points per game. He was selected in the first round (14th overall) by the Baltimore Bullets.
Terry Davis
1985-1989
Davis scored 1,508 points and grabbed 1,125 rebounds over the course of his career. He started every game of his last three seasons while averaging over 20 points and 10 rebounds per contest. Davis was named the CIAA Most Outstanding Player in 1989 while Virginia Union went 101-22 during his career. Davis and the Panthers won two CIAA Men’s Basketball Championships in 1987 and 1989 while advancing to the NCAA Tournament during all four years of his career. He was named to the NABC Division II All-American Team twice, in 1988 and 1989. After his collegiate career, Davis played as a power forward and center for the Miami Heat, Dallas Mavericks, Washington Wizards, and Denver Nuggets during a 12-year career in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He later returned to his alma mater as an assistant men’s basketball coach.
Charles Oakley
1981-1985
An import from Cleveland, OH Charles Oakley went on to become one of the most dominant big men in CIAA history. Oakley accumulated 2,273 points and grabbed 1,664 rebounds for his career.
Oakley averaged 24.3 PPG & 17.3 RPG as a senior in 1984-1985, winning Division II national player of the year honors and leading VUU to a 31-win season. He then went on to be drafted in the first round (ninth overall) by the Chicago Bulls and play nearly two decades in the NBA.
Ben Wallace
1994-1996
Wallace played his last two years of collegiate basketball at Virginia Union University from 1994-1996. He made an immediate impact on the Panthers squad with an average of 13.4 points per game and 10.0 rebounds per game. He led VUU to the NCAA Division II Final Four with a 28-3 record. As a senior, he was selected as a Division II First Team All American by the NABC. Ben Wallace still holds the school record with 114 blocks in a single season.
Sixth Man: Jamie Waller
1983-1987
Waller, an athletic small forward, was an All-CIAA selection in 1985, 1986, and 1987. He helped lead the Panthers to two CIAA titles in 1985 and 1987. Over his four-year career, Waller scored 2,568 points which ranks second on the VUU all-time scoring list (Mike Davis) and sixth on the CIAA all-time scoring list. He was drafted by the New Jersey Nets in 1987.
Other Virginia Union Greats:
Bruce Spraggins: Lethal scorer in the early 1960s, played in the ABA
Jackie Jackson: NY street ball legend who played with the Harlem Globetrotters
Derrick Johnson: MVP of 1992 NCAA title team, 1994 D2 Player of The Year
Darius Hargrove: 2006 CIAA Player of The Year
Warren Peebles: 1994 CIAA Player of The Year
Ray Anderson: 2017 CIAA Player of The Year
Coverage of the NBA HBCU Classic between Winston-Salem State and Virginia Union will tip-off at 2 PM and be simulcast on TNT, NBA TV and ESPN2, with Grant Hill, Chris Haynes and Brian Custer serving as the on-air broadcast team. ESPN hosts and HBCU alumni Stephen A. Smith (WSSU) and Shannon Sharpe (Savannah State University) will appear on telecast to discuss their HBCU experiences.
The 2024 NBA HBCU Classic marks the first matchup between two Division II programs.